The Possession
by NowComesTheNight
Summary: Duo Maxwell is a young psycic who is called in to assist his brother, Father Solo Maxwell, with an exorcisim... but not everything is as it seems. Warnings and Disclaimers inside.
1. Prologue

Hey everyone! I'm Shadow-Way and am new to fanfiction (ecspecially of the 1x2x1 variety). This is my first story and will probably lean toward 2x1, so if this is something you're not interested in... then I'm sorry, but this story is not for you. This story is also not for you if you don't care for eclectic religious views with a dash of my own perspective thrown in. The yaoi in this will probably be tame, but it's too soon to tell for sure... No fears though! I will let all of you know if the rating changes.

Rating: T; for good measure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. I do however own this story and would appreciate it if you didn't steal it.

...

The Possession

Prologue

Doctor Lucrezia Noin started as a light tapping sounded through the silent room. She chuckled ruefully at her jumpy state; her most recent patient really was starting to wear on her nerves. The knocking at her office door became more insistent as she hastily sorted through the organized chaos of her desk.

"Just a moment." She called out and continued to search through the mess of files.

Finding what she needed, the young doctor made her way to the door and opened it. A tall, proud looking woman with intelligent blue eyes and long, blond hair, styled in two thick twists, graced Lucrezia's vision. She let out a heavy sigh and gave her long-time friend and colleague the first real smile she had had in weeks.

"Sally Po…" She breathed the name as if it were the answer to her every prayer. "It's been too long."

"Yes it has." The taller woman replied, wrapping the young doctor in a friendly hug. "We can catch up later… You sounded urgent over the phone. Something about a patient of yours?"

"Um… yeah." She said hesitantly.

She broke away from the comforting hold and shoved the file she was holding at Sally. The blond doctor raised an eyebrow at her friend's nervous behavior. She opened the manila folder and skimmed over its contents, her eyes widening at every new page.

"Follow me." Lucrezia said before Sally could remark on the questionable status of her patient.

She obliged and followed a step behind her old friend. They made their way through the narrow halls; Sally's heals clicking sharply against the pale green linoleum tiles. The walls were a soft cream color and the corridor smelled like it was just recently painted, but the blond psychiatrist noticed nothing of this. She was far too absorbed in the pages in front of her, intent on finding out why her friend's patient had been misdiagnosed so many times, and why his current status was 'unknown'.

It's true that she had far more experience than her raven-haired friend, but it was simply uncharacteristic for Lucrezia to give up on a patient like this. She always took in the most difficult of patients and had a knack for getting on 'their level' and sympathizing with them. They opened up to her quicker than most doctors and, after that, it was usually easy for her to find the correct diagnosis and treatment. She just had an amazing intuition when it came to people. Never before had Sally seen this 'prodigy', as many of her colleagues dubbed the young doctor, stumped.

Sally sighed and closed the file. She wasn't going to find any of the answers on paper; she was going to find them in the young women now standing in front of an elevator, pushing the down button over and over in an impatient, nervous gesture.

"Down…" Sally said with a frown. Lucrezia's office was on the first floor of the building. Going down could only mean one thing. "You put him in isolation?"

"One of the padded cells actually…" she said as they walked through the now open elevator doors. "To keep him from hurting himself… as well as others."

They rode the floor long drop in silence. The young doctor bounced from foot to foot with a nervous energy while her arms wrapped tightly around her upper body, as if trying to keep herself from coming apart. A ding sounded in the small compartment as the doors slid open again. Lucrezia left the elevator quickly and started to walk down the hallway, but Sally grabbed her elbow and forced her to face her.

"I want to know what this is about… _now_." She said sternly, eyes narrowing at the smaller woman.

"I just…" she took a deep breath and prepared herself for the words she knew were coming, "I just needed a second opinion before I did something… unorthodox."

"Okay." The blond woman's eyes softened. "What are you planning on doing?"

Lucrezia shifted nervously, studying her shoes with a seemingly intense interest.

"I want to call in a Priest." She answered in an almost ashamed tone.

"A Priest…" Sally reiterated unbelievingly. "Lu, what in the _Hell_ would you want to call a Priest for!?"

"An Exorcism." She raised a hand to stop the older doctor from interrupting. "I have already done the research and have even spoken to one already, a Father Maxwell, who specializes in these kinds of things… He even has a little brother who is a very strong psychic. He calls him in from time to time when he feels it's necessary."

Sally looked at her friend incredulously. The long bangs of her, otherwise, short cropped hair fell in a silky black curtain over half of her face, as if trying to hide herself from the criticism she was obviously going to get.

"Would you listen to yourself … an Exorcism!?" Sally felt her anger rise to the front of all the emotions swirling dizzyingly in her. Her friend had always been an intelligent and sensible woman, and now here she was making herself sound like a fool! "That's insane… and dangerous! Your patient is obviously disturbed and you're going to risk his mental health on something as ludicrous as an Exorcism! You don't even believe in God!"

"… I'm not so sure anymore…"

Lucrezia lifted her head and gazed at Sally pleadingly. A tremor ran through her body and she hugged her chest tightly, trying to keep the fear from consuming her. The blonde doctor was taken aback by the sheer terror in her friends eyes.

"Heero Yuy spent a week in the psychiatric ward of Boston Medical, being treated for severe post-traumatic stress disorder." She began, reciting the boy's file from heart. "He-he was put on suicide watch when he was discovered cutting himself with a shard of his bathroom mirror." She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands in exhaustion before continuing. "While she was keeping a closer watch on him, his doctor noticed that he was hearing things and seeing things… Dr. Une decided to send him here after his first violent outburst. At first, I thought it was because they weren't equipped well enough to handle a violent patient… I was wrong."

The grown woman now looked more like a lost child as she rewrapped her arms tighter around herself, trying in vain to suppress the shivers wracking her body. Her voice sounded small and vulnerable when she spoke again.

"I have seen many things in my years… schizophrenia… split personalities… violence… I even watched one of my patients kill an orderly with their bare hands…" she took a deep breath and whispered, "But nothing has ever scared me… not like this."

Her usually bright, deep blue eyes were dark and shimmered with unshed tears as she dropped her gaze back to the floor.

"I want you to tell me that I'm o-overreacting… I-I want you to say that I'm crazy." Her voice wavered. "At least then my world will make sense again…"

Sally Po looked over her friends trembling form with sympathy. This branch of psychological practice can wear down even the strongest of people, she knew this from experience. It was obvious that her friend just needed some reassurance. Her facial expression softened and she took the young doctor's elbow gently in her grasp, giving it a light, comforting squeeze.

"Hey… don't worry, its alright." she cooed soothingly. "I'll take a look at your patient and when this is all over and done with, I'll buy you a cup of coffee and we will laugh off this ridiculous Exorcism idea… okay?"

Lucrezia gave the blonde a weak smile, her eyes still brimming with unshed tears.

"Alright…"

They continued their journey down the hall in complete silence.

Unlike the floor above them, the basement level of the Oz Psychiatric Institute had no color or semblance of a comforting hospital meant to heal its patients. It felt like a prison. The walls and floor of the wide corridor were made of a rough, gray concrete. Large, solid steel doors with one small, rectangular cut out fixed with a thick plane of glass lined the hall in evenly spaced intervals. Fluorescent lights, embedded along the gray ceiling, illuminated the Isolation Wing with harsh, synthetic white light.

Sally suppressed a shiver as Lucrezia came to a stop in front of a door with 'L-1' written across it in bold, white script. The raven-haired doctor nodded toward the two hulking men standing on either side.

"Otto and Walker are familiar with this case…" she explained, her voice devoid of the nervous fear she expressed earlier, "they will be going in with you."

"Of course." The blonde woman replied.

Making sure she had everything she would need for the interview, Sally walked forward and pushed against the heavy steel door. Once in the padded cell, the psychiatrist immediately took notice of the form sitting in the farthest corner. The patient in question had his back against one wall with his knees drawn up, forehead resting upon them. His arms were restrained in a straight jacket.

"Why is this boy still bound?" She demanded, keeping her voice low.

"It was the only way to keep him from re-breaking his fingers." The orderly whispered in reply.

"So… he's torturing himself?"

"...Seems like it."

Sally absorbed this information before slowly, but confidently, approaching the boy. She noticed the way his muscles tensed as she drew closer, but made no other move to acknowledge her presence. In psychiatry, it is a well known fact that the key to treating a patient, especially a child, was trust and understanding. In order to gain those things, a doctor needed to seem open and approachable. Sally was pretty sure, from what she'd read in his file, that this patient was used to being treated as a competent adult from a very young age. Suddenly being second guessed and heavily supervised was probably quite the shock for him. She decided that, in order to gain such trust, she needed to treat him as an equal, not a subject.

"Heero Yuy?" She inquired in a clam voice. "My name is Sally Po, do you mind if I take a seat?"

He only tensed more at the Psychiatrists gentle request.

"You know, I usually feel a lot better after talking to someone… vent, so to speak." Sally ventured.

"Get out." Came the strained voice. Heero's demand was cold, sharp, and detached. "It'll get bad if you don't."

The blonde doctor was about to come back with an appropriate response when his entire posture changed. Heero's body relaxed and his head pulled away from his knees as shoulders rested casually against the wall. One leg stretched out and the boy tilted his head back just enough for Sally to see the sick twist of a grin through the shaggy bangs that fell haphazardly across his forehead. It was as if someone flipped a switch and, suddenly, there was a completely different boy sitting in front of her.

A quick, soft clicking emanated from Heero's throat and the sound froze the blood in Sally's veins. She'd never heard anything like it before, it was animalistic and dangerous.

"Vos no a erroris, non audio ut puer (1)." He said in a flippant, teasing tone.

Before Sally could react, she felt a sudden blow to her chest and she was on her back with a thick leather strap wrapped tightly around her neck. She desperately kicked out against the weight on top of her, but her legs were easily pinned by her attacker. Panic gripped her as she tugged, twisted, and bucked, but to no avail. Heero was an unmovable force atop her and the strap around her neck constricted with every attempt she made to dislodge him.

"Lascivio cum incendia est non valde sapiens, Medicus (2)." A deeper, more vicious voice growled through clenched teeth.

She looked up at those words and, as her stunned blue eyes locked with the cold, pitch black orbs above her, she lost all rational thought. The boy continued to growl and snarl inhumanly in her ear… and that God _awful_ clicking was back. Cold fear washed through her body, tears flowed freely from her eyes and her lungs burned for air. And if that strap tightened by a hair something was going to snap!

Darkness clouded her vision and just when she was sure she couldn't hold out any longer, the leather abruptly loosened and then went completely slack. The weight on her was removed; leather strap going with it, and Sally gasped and choked for air, coughing and sputtering, getting too much and not enough at the same time. She clamored back as fast as she could, until she felt her shoulders press against the firm padding of the opposite wall.

"Sally! Sally!" Lucrezia's voice finally registered. "Sally, are you alright!?"

The blonde doctor's heart was still racing in her chest and she felt incredibly dizzy. "Lu…"

"Shhh, it's okay. Don't say anything… I'll bring you to the infirmary, and from there we'll call an ambulance if you need it."

The young doctor spoke in a low, soothing tone, but Sally could detect the tremble in her voice.

"Lu…"

"What?"

"Call that fucking Priest…"

...

TBC.

1- Latin. Translation: "You made a mistake, not listening to the boy."

2- Latin again. Translation: "Playing with fire is not very wise, Doctor."

Note: the "Clicking" I referred to is similar to a sound a cat makes when it watches its prey. I heard it once when my cat was watching the birds outside my window. Scared the hell out of me.

Let me know what you think! And if you are going to criticize, please be constuctive. Anything less is useless to me.

~`~ Shadow-Way


	2. Devil's Got a Holda Me

Disclaimer: I do not now nor will I ever own Gundam Wing in any way, shape, or form. *pouts*

Warnings: OOC, 2x1 shounen-ai, butchered religion, sorry attempts at humor

A/N: I'm soooo sorry this took so long to put up! I don't want to make excuses so I'm just going to try harder to put other chapters up in a more timely fashion. Thanks to all those who reviewed my last chapter and my great beta skylark.

---

Chapter 1:

Devil's Got a Holda Me

---

_Flames seared his skin and smoke filled his lungs as he fought desperately against invisible restraints._

_He called for help, but no one heard._

_He could not breathe, yet could not die._

_Falling to his knees, the fire consumed him. Skin charred and blistered. Flesh melting from his bones, yet the sweet release of death was nigh._

_How he wished for it._

_How he wished for eternal darkness to envelop him and carry him away from this tortuous fate… but it never came. _

_It would never come._

_---  
_

Duo Maxwell awoke with an agonizing scream, fighting off enemies that existed only in his mind.

"Duo! Duo!"

Cool hands were laid against his burning cheeks as he continued to fight the sheets thoroughly entangled with his limbs.

"Duo, calm down it's just a dream." The soothing voice finally penetrated his troubled mind.

"'Fei?" He asked hesitantly, finally ceasing his struggle. Weary, violet eyes blinked open and stared questioningly into the shadowed face before him.

"Yes… are you okay?"

Realizing that it truly was his best friend and there was no danger, Duo took a deep, calming breath and threw an arm over his eyes. That dream... it had been so realistic. He was hot and sweaty, and there was a lingering smell of sulfur on his skin. He knew he hadn't been the one burning, but he felt every agonizing ounce of pain that person had gone through; the flames that licked the skin, the sweltering heat, the sweat that poured off the bubbling flesh. The burning man. He was important, Duo just wasn't sure how.

Peeking out from behind the shelter of his arm, Duo met Wufei's concerned gaze and gave a small nod in answer. Questions still swirled in those dark eyes, but his friend only responded with a curt nod of his own and stood to leave.

Wufei took no more than one step away from the bed when a hand suddenly reached out and latched itself with surprising strength to his wrist. He turned back quickly, questions ready on his tongue, but the words were never spoken. Duo's distant, half-lidded gaze seemed to be looking at a point beyond reality. Wufei knew that look. He knew that it was pointless to question his friend in this state, that all he could do was wait patiently for him to speak.

A moment later, Duo's dry lips began to move, forming words spoken too softly for Wufei to hear. He moved in closer, hoping to catch what it was his friend was saying, but before he could make out anything, Duo's eyes gained an aware light and sought his own.

"Wufei?" His exhaustion was evident in his tone.

"Yes?"

"…When m' brother calls… tell 'im I c'n be there at two."

With that, Duo rolled to his side, back facing his now puzzled friend.

Wufei waited for his roommate to elaborate, but when soft snores reached his ears he simply rolled his eyes and left the man to sleep.

When he reached his own room, Wufei stopped in the doorway, smirking in amusement at his still sleeping girlfriend. Neither Duo's blood curdling screams, nor his own mad dash to calm his roommate had disrupted Meiran in the slightest. All he wanted to do was crawl under the covers and join her in blissful repose, but, knowing that he would never be able to get back to sleep, he continued to walk through the living room to their apartment's small kitchen.

_Might as well make breakfast… it's almost 6:30 anyway._ He figured.

Deciding to start with a fresh pot of coffee, Wufei shuffled tiredly over to the brewer which, despite its two decade age, he could proudly state was as pristine and reliable as the day it was bought. He pulled the pot off of its stand and turned toward the sink when the phone rang. Startled, the sleepy young man lost his grip on the glass container and it tumbled gracefully to the linoleum floor where it shattered on contact.

Wufei just stood there, staring at the remains of what once was his perfect, pristine, precious coffee pot. The phone rang again and the Chinese man thought about making whatever bastard it was that decided to call before seven o'clock in the morning talk to the answering machine.

Realizing that that wasn't a very good punishment, and that the call could very well be an emergency, Wufei hastily tip-toed around the shards of glass and snatched the phone from its cradle.

"What!" He snarled.

"Sorry but, um, is, ah… Duo there?" Came the sheepish sounding reply.

"Solo? Why are you calling so early?" Wufei asked, suddenly worried.

There was a moments pause before he answered, "Oh my... is that really the time?"

"Yes." Wufei answered, a little dumbfounded.

"Oh... I didn't mean to, the time must've just... gotten away from me."

"Okay…" It seemed a little odd to the Chinese man that his roommates sensible and organized older brother could lose track of anything, let alone the time. "Well... Duo said to tell you that he could be there at two?" He ventured, hoping it would make sense to the man on the other line.

"...That's just like Duo." Solo chuckled.

"Which part, knowing you would call or the avoidance?" Wufei asked, a wry smirk twisting his lips.

"Both… I just wish I could have spoken to him myself. To apologize."

"For what?"

"For what I'm about to make him do..." He replied crypticly. "Thanks Wufei. Bye."

"Bye." Wufei reciprocated, bewildered by Solo's odd statement and behavior.

With that, the Chinese man replaced the phone in its cradle and turned back to the mess of glass and metal on the kitchen floor. He scrubbed his face warily before combing thin fingers through his black, shoulder-length hair.

"I'll never get used to living with a psychic." He muttered, walking away to locate the broom and dust pan.

---

Duo wished to Hell that the morning would never come, but, of course, it did.

As the sun rose, pouring bright morning light in through the small window of his bedroom, the young man hastily drew a brush through the tangles of his damp, chestnut hair. Deftly twisting the thick mass into a neat braid, Duo tied it off with an elastic and threw it over his shoulder where it trailed down to the small of his back.

The braided man ran his hands down the front of his tight black t-shirt and across the seat of his equally dark jeans, nervously brushing away wrinkles that did not exist, and turned to the full length mirror.

Duo shook his long bangs out of his eyes as deep violet stared back at him, scrutinizing his own face.

"I fuckin' hate asylums." He said to his reflection, resignation laced within his gravely timber.

He hadn't been near one since he was a child, but he remembered what it was like. It was a veritable mind fuck. Psychics and Sensitives were usually uncomfortable in hospitals and the like because of the oppressive negativity and death that occurred there. But, an asylum? A person like him could be driven to the brink of sanity themselves.

Duo sighed heavily, letting his gaze drop away from his own hopeless expression. He knew Solo wouldn't have asked him to go unless he was utterly stumped, but he couldn't help but feel resentful towards his brother. He knew what the braided boy had gone through, after all. He'd been there, he'd seen it with his own two eyes...

The young man shook himself from his distressing thoughts. There was no two ways about it, Solo needed him and Duo would never turn down a case of such severity. His older brother was just doing his best to relieve a suffering soul of its burden and, right now, his best had to include the braided man. It was either that or lose an innocent, and that was something neither Duo nor Solo could ever except.

He grabbed the duffel he'd packed earlier and left his room. Taking the short trip down the hall, Duo tossed the bag into his favorite armchair in the living room before entering the kitchen. There he found his Chinese roommate, still in his baggy sweats and long-sleeved night shirt, sound asleep at the table with his head pooled by his arms.

Wufei's hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail at the nape of his neck, giving the violet eyed man an unobscured view of his peaceful expression. His cheek rested against the faux blonde grain, deep rhythmic breaths ghosting along the surface.

A small smile touched Duo's lips as he took in the tranquil scene before him, wishing he had his camera. It was a rare occasion to find his roommate in such a state as he was usually a very light sleeper.

That smile, though, soon turned into a broad grin as a wicked gleam entered the long-haired man's eyes. Tip-toeing as silently as he could against the gray, tiled floor, he carefully made his way over to the Chinese man. Duo stopped when he was at his side, bending at the waist so his face was right next to Wufei's.

"'Fei..." he said, cautiously testing the waters.

He pulled back a little bit to judge the other man's reaction. Dead to the world, Wufei didn't even twitch. The grin threatened to split his face as Duo leaned in close once again.

"Wake up 'Fei!"

Startled, dark eyes flew open wide as that resonant voice abruptly pierced his deep slumber. With an undignified yelp, Wufei shot out of his chair, the old wood groaning before toppling backward to the floor. Heart pounding and disoriented from the sudden disruption, the Chinese man instinctively, but awkwardly, stumbled into a defensive fighting stance. The vertigo dissipated quickly and he became instantly aware of a muffled choking. Turning to the sound, Wufei found his friend; one hand pressed against his mouth and the other arm clutched around his middle as Duo's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.

"Maxwell!" Wufei snarled, not finding this situation the least bit amusing.

Duo took a deep breath and swallowed down his chuckles as he righted himself and let his arms drop back to his sides. He really did try to keep his mirth to himself, but the thought of that noise his roommate made as he all but fell out of his chair was too much for the violet eyed man. He threw his head back as laughter rumbled from his throat, once again clutching at his sides.

"S-sorry," he gasped when he regained some control, "you shoulda s-seen your f-face!"

"It was not funny." Wufei bit out with a slight blush tinting his cheeks. He'd slid out of his stance and was now in the process of righting the chair he'd knocked over and promptly dropping back onto it.

"Sure it was..." Duo replied, not quite finished baiting his friend. "An' you scream like a girl."

"I do not!" the Chinese man shouted indignantly.

The braided man chuckled lightly as he slid himself onto the counter top. Really, his roommate was just way too easy.

"Speaking of girls," the braided man, finally noticing that Meiran wasn't around, asked, "where's that gurlie of yours?"

"My _girlfriend_..." Wufie started, stressing the proper title. "is still asleep." Then, with a smirk, added. "You are welcome to try and wake her if you like."

The teasing smile dropped from Duo's face as he glared darkly at his roommate. The last time he tried waking up Meiran all he got in return was a fist in his face. The only thing that seemed to mollify the girl's "instinctive" response to being woken was coffee.

"I am goin' nowhere near that demonic entity that possesses your girlfriend in the mornin' until I'm armed to the teeth with caffeine! Seriously, that girl's an addict! She should be entered in a twelve step program or somethin'!" Duo stated, expressing his point by waving his arms around dramatically.

Mentioning coffee, Duo suddenly realized that the kitchen was missing the familiar aroma. He glanced around the room, violet eyes scanning the counter tops for the familiar pot of dark liquid.

"Hey, Wufei, where _is_ the coffee?" He asked.

A perturbed look darkened his roommates eyes. Scowling at Duo, he answered, "You are the psychic... you figure it out."

The scorn in his friend's voice stung. Duo often wondered if Wufei was simply tolerating the braided man's presence in the apartment, if his abilities offended or disturbed the Chinese man in some way.

They'd been good friends since freshmen year in college and, upon graduation last May, they had readily agreed to live together. Now, though, Duo wondered if the arrangement hadn't stressed their relationship too much. The braided man had never tried to conceal or lie about his abilities, he had been completely open and honest from the beginning, but there was a big difference between getting it in small doses and having to constantly live with it. The uncertainty made Duo feel insecure... and that was a feeling he hated.

"Just because I'm a psychic doesn' mean I know every god_damn_ thing!" he said heatedly, letting anger push away his discomfort.

Wufei felt guilty. He hadn't meant to take his irritation out on his friend. Sighing, he sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose, now he had to admit his inane attachment to a silly household appliance.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to..." came the halting response. "I am just frustrated because I dropped the coffee pot this morning. That is why there is no coffee."

Duo wasn't exactly sure what to say. His anger had melted away with the hesitant admission, taking every insult he'd thought up along with it. He knew that the machine meant something to Wufei. Hell, the way he pampered the thing was a dead giveaway. He couldn't gibe his Chinese friend for it either, not when he knew what it was like to need something that seemed ludicrous. Unconsciously, a hand snaked back to the long rope of chestnut and pulled it over his shoulder. Stroking the length of it, he looked over the vexed form of his friend and smiled disarmingly.

"I guess that's why Meiran's still asleep."

A startled laugh emanated from Wufei's throat, he hadn't expected his braided friend to let the issue drop so easily. "Yeah, even I'm afraid of her right hook."

"Ay Deus meus(1)!" Duo swooned. "Ya mean the Wufei Chang admits to fearing a woman! Satan must be pullin' out his winter coat!"

And just like that, the tension lifted from the room. Duo slid off the counter and collected the paraphernalia to make himself a simple bowl of cereal for breakfast. He slid into the chair across from Wufei and ate in silence.

As Duo stood to place his empty bowl in the sink, Wufei looked up at the clock on the wall. It was nearly 10am. Knowing that his girlfriend would feel embarrassed if she slept much longer, he looked to the kitchen entrance hoping that she would show up of her own accord. He sighed in resignation when there wasn't so much as a sound and stood from his own chair.

"I guess I will have to explain the black eye at work on Monday." He mumbled to himself.

Wufei was about to step across the threshold when he heard Duo call him. He turned to see the braided man with his back to the sink, head cocked to one side, and violet eyes distant and dilated.

When his eyes refocused back to his roommate a smirk quirked his lips. "Don' worry 'Fei, coffee's here."

Before the Chinese man could ask what he meant by that, a knock sounded through the apartment.

---

(1)- Portuguese: Oh my God!

A/N: can anyone name the band that sings a song of the same title as this chapter? Also, who do you think is walking through the door in the next chapter?


	3. Witchcraft

A/N: I'm so sorry this one took awhile! The plot decided to change on me while writing this chapter, so from here on out I'm warning that there may be some inconsistencies between any following chapters and the previous ones. I want to thank everyone for the great reviews! I get all warm and fuzzy when I read them... and also, a big thanks to my bets Skylark, you're awesome!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for this plot... even if it dose like to change on its own.

Warnings: Eventual shounen-ai, butchered religion, attempted quirky humor, psychic abilities, and small mention of a NICE Relena.

Chapter 2:

Witchcraft

* * *

Duo finished rinsing out his bowl of cereal when he felt a genial presence enter the back of his mind. It was light and bright, it felt like warmth and radiance... almost like mid-morning sunshine. A smile spread across his face as he recognized who it was. He turned and called out to Wufei, but stopped when an odd redolence reached his nose. The aroma was ethereal, he realized, but rich and familiar.

"Don' worry 'Fei," he said with a humorous grin, "coffee's here."

Puzzlement coloured the Chinese man's face, but before he could ask Duo anything a knock sounded through the small apartment.

"Door's open!" The braided man hollered to the surprise guest before busying himself with putting away his dishes.

Duo listened to the soft foot falls as his co-worker crossed the living room and into the kitchen. He returned to the table where a blonde man was now standing, carefully placing the tray of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and a white paper bag onto it's surface before removing the duffel from his shoulder and tossing it to the floor.

"Hey Quatre!" The violet eyed man greeted enthusiastically. Sparkling blue eyes turned toward him, a bright smile lighting the pale face, and returned the salutation. "Not that I'm complainin', but whatcha doin' here?"

"Well," the blonde man began, his light voice always seeming to carry that bright, upbeat tone, "when I woke up this morning, I noticed that you felt edgy and nervous and thought 'why not drop by?'. But, on my way here, it seemed to change to irritation and exhaustion and I _know_ that's usually how you feel when you don't get your morning coffee, so I got some!"

Quatre finished his monologue with a flourish, waving his hand at the table's contents. Duo gave a low chuckle before turning his gaze on the other man. Quatre was a couple years younger and about two inches shorter then himself, and, despite being of Arabic decent, was pale skinned. His light blonde hair was just long enough to fall into his eyes, highlighting the aqua colour that shone in exuberance. The light-wash jeans he wore, unlike Duo's own tight black ones, were a relaxed, comfortable fit secured by a simple black belt. A matching denim jacket, lined in navy blue flannel for warmth, was open over a bright pink shirt that proudly stated 'REAL MEN WEAR PINK' in bold, black lettering across the chest. Duo let himself snicker a little at the shirt's phrase.

Wufei approached the table quietly, carefully selecting two of the four styrofoam cups and removing the lids to inspect the content. They were both plain, black coffee.

"How did you know how many to get?" He asked the strange blonde man.

"It just felt... right." Quatre answered with a shrug.

"Are you a psychic too?" The Chinese man questioned, looking pointedly at Duo who was retrieving the Coffee-Mate, their favourite hazelnut flavoured cream, from the 'fridge.

The braided man looked up from his task to see his roommate giving him an accusing look. He ducked his head sheepishly as he answered, "Ah, right... sorry." He scratched the back of his head insecurely, feeling embarrassed that he'd forgotten to introduce the two. "Quatre Winner, meet my roommate Wufei Chang. Quatre works with me at Sweeper's Private Investigations. He's kinda new, but gotta lot of potential."

"So you are a psychic." Wufei stated.

"Uh, not everyone who works there is, but yes I'm clairsentient."

He shot the little blonde an odd look, and Quatre chuckled.

"It's really just a fancy word for 'empath' or 'intuitive'. In short, I can feel other peoples emotions."

Wufei looked up as Duo handed him the container of hazelnut cream. He nodded his thanks then poured a liberal amount of the rich liquid into both cups before handing the bottle back to his roommate, who repeated the ritual. Pursing his lips in thought, Wufei turned his attention back to the newcomer. "That must get very difficult."

Quatre shrugged as he accepted the container of cream from his friend, looking it over curiously. "It was when I was younger. I had no idea why I would suddenly go from feeling depressed to angry to elated for no apparent reason. I would randomly break down and cry... it was mentally exhausting and caused a lot of headaches. But, I eventually learned that what I was feeling wasn't coming from me and I taught myself how to shut out unwanted emotions without crippling my own." He turned to Wufei. "And now I can even tell the difference between who's feeling what."

Wufei nodded his understanding and, picking up both cups of coffee, departed for his bedroom and the task of waking his, at times, volatile girlfriend.

The blonde man had since returned to his inspection of the bottle he held. He couldn't decide if he liked the idea of using it as he'd never tried the combination of hazelnut and coffee before. Quatre popped open the spout and daintily sniffed at the contents.

"Quatre!" Duo laughed from where he'd begun to sip at his own concoction. "It's not toxic, I swear! Y'just pour it in an' enjoy!"

"Is it any good?" He asked.

"Hell yeah! That shit's addictin'." he replied enthusiastically. "Just be careful how much you put in... it's wicked sweet."

Quatre flashed a little smile at his friend before taking Duo's advice. He carefully added some of the cream to his coffee and stirred the contents together before raising the cup to his lips and taking a cautious sip. His face brightened in surprised delight as the smooth, creamy liquid rolled across his tongue in a fascinating combination of bitter and sweet, the familiar flavour of fresh-roasted coffee mingling with the unexpected hazelnut intriguing his palate. The next couple of mouthfuls were gulped down quickly, nearly scalding his throat, as the blonde man couldn't seem to get enough.

"Allah, that is really good!" Quatre exclaimed when he could finally tear his lips away from the rim.

Duo chuckled at his friend's exuberance as he put away the well-used bottle. Returning to the table, the braided man dropped onto one of the chairs and continued to sip at his hot drink. He eyed the duffel that his empathic friend seemed to have forgotten about and wondered what Quatre might have packed it for. Duo remembered him mentioning once that he had a rather large and politically influential family, and that, as consequence, he attended quite a few... engagements. But Duo didn't think that Quatre had anything to attend, at least not this weekend. And if he did, wouldn't the braided man have known about it? Finally, Duo decided to just ask.

"Hey Q-man, y'goin somewhere?" He questioned, motioning to the large bag near the table.

The blonde man spared a glance at the aforementioned item before smoothly sliding into a chair opposite Duo, a satisfied smirk gracing his lips. "Why yes... Yes I am."

"And..."

"And what?"

"_Where_ are you going?" Duo huffed, making sure to enunciate his question.

"With you, of course."

The violet eyes widened in surprise at the empath's uncannily correct prediction. "How did you..." Duo abruptly abandoned that line of questioning, remembering that it wasn't uncommon for an empath to be able to make small predictions based on others emotions. A serious expression settled on the braided man's face as he continued. "You can't come, Quatre."

"Why not?" The blonde asked stubbornly.

"'Cause..." Duo searched his mind frantically, trying to find a good enough reason for his friend to not go. "You don' even know where I'm going!"

"Maybe not, but I do know you're scared..."

"I am _not_ scared!" _Duo Maxwell does not get scared, damn it!_

"Yes, you are! You are scared shitless! And as long as I have known you, you've never been so afraid... you shouldn't go this alone." The blonde man replied firmly.

"Goddamn it, Quatre! I'm just goin' to help my brother with an Exorcism, I've done plenty of 'em before... I'll be fine on my own!" He turned a worried gaze to his friend. "You've never been t'one, they're intense... and they c'n get dangerous. It would be irresponsible for me to bring someone with no training, especially a psychic."

"I'll be fine!" Quatre huffed. "Besides, if you try to leave me behind I'll only follow you."

Wasn't that the truth! Duo knew his blonde friend well enough to know that when he set his mind to something he did it, regardless of what others thought. The braided man had to come up with a way to overpower that determined stubbornness, and the only thing he could think of that really mattered to Quatre were the people he was close to. He had a boundless sense of loyalty...

"Howard!" Duo exclaimed, struck by sudden inspiration. "You can't just leave Howard without any of his psychics. It was just you, me an' Lynn and Lee(1). You know the twins left to go visit a sick aunt that isn't sick yet, but will be... or some such nonsense. I dunno, it's kinda hard to keep track of past, present, and future with those two... But that's beside the point! The point is that you can't leave Howard with no one." A triumphant grin spread across the braided man's face, he was sure he had his friend with that one.

Quatre hid his own wicked smirk behind his cup of coffee as he answered, "I already spoke to Howard, and he completely agrees with me. He wants me to go with you..." when he noticed his friend about to argue, the blonde empath continued quickly. "Don't worry about his lack of psychic investigators. Relena is going to help him out, if just for a week."

"She is?" He asked incredulously.

Relena Dorlain was one of the most well known and highly sought after psychics on the east coast, though she very rarely took any job offers given, preferring to work only the most difficult cases. Also, the woman never took any compensation for her work. Having been born of old money, she didn't need to. She was a good friend of Howard's and Duo had met her a couple of times in the past. If he closed his eyes now, he could still see that glint of knowledge in her warm blue eyes, like she knew far more then she would ever let on.

"Yeah... she actually called him up at 6:30 in the morning and told him that she would be filling in for us, then hung up. Didn't even give him a chance to ask questions or argue."

"Only Relena could call that early on a Saturday an' get away unscathed!" Duo laughed. "Well then, I guess you're comin' with me." When his comment was met by an odd look, Duo asked, "What?"

"Nothing..." Quatre began. "I just expected more of an argument."

"Look, if there's one thing I've learned it's that if Relena Dorlain asks you to jump, you do it. Period."

"But she didn't ask you to do anything."

"She called Howard at 6:30 you said?" When Duo got a nod in confirmation, he continued, "That was around the same time that Solo called... She may as well of jumped outta the closet and scolded me for bein' thick headed."

"It may have been a coincidence..." His blonde friend suggested, still not completely convinced.

"With Relena there are no coincidences."

"Who has no coincidences?" asked a very familiar, feminine voice from the kitchens entrance.

The violet eyed man looked up from his conversation to see Wufei and his girlfriend, Meiran, leaning comfortably against the door-jam and each other. The young woman next to his roommate was also of Chinese descent and very pretty. Duo'd often joked with his friend that he had no idea why a girl like that was ever interested in Wufei. Her long, dark hair was messily pulled back and she was wearing a pair of purple pajama bottoms that were decorated with yellow hearts all over the place and a large, baggy, grey t-shirt that looked suspiciously like one of his roommates... and that little smirk set on her full lips only meant pain and/or humiliation for Duo.

Quickly, Duo reached across the table and grabbed the cardboard tray, the one that had once held the coffee, and held it protectively in front of his face. Cautiously, he peeked out from behind his impromptu shelter.

"Is it safe to come out?"

"Ha ha ha, very funny." She said with a roll of her eyes, shoving off of her boyfriend to walk over to the trash can and toss out both empty, styrofoam coffee cups.

Duo tossed the tray onto the table and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Closing his eyes, he absorbed the feeling of Meiran's presence as it filled the room. She was cool, but not chillingly so, and light with a soft, bright quality to it making her seem innocent and vulnerable. This contrasted severely with her mocking, joking, 'I'm tougher then you' attitude and evoked a brotherly sort of protectiveness in the braided man. It was as if her outward bravado was protecting a far more sensitive, beautiful soul, reminding Duo of a stained glass window. Loud, colourful, and so easily broken.

He feared what would happen if anyone managed work their way past all of her defences just to shatter that precious image.

A foot nudged his own underneath the table, causing Duo to snap his attention back to reality and the wide, blue eyes looking worriedly into his.

"Hey, are you alright?" His blonde friend hedged.

Before he could answer, the telephone rang. Duo jumped up to grab the wireless, but Wufei made it there before him and there was a brief, friendly struggle over the device. Quatre chanced a glance at Meiran who simply snorted and shook her head at the display. The roommates continued to grapple until Wufei finally came up victorious. With Duo's dark shirt clutched in a fist, he held back his half-heartedly struggling friend at arms length and punched the answer key.

"Hello." The Chinese man immediately removed the 'phone from his ear as a highly agitated voice shrieked for him to put Duo on. "Here Duo. I am not sure, but I think it is your Vavor (2)."

With a long suffering sigh, the braided man took the 'phone from his grateful looking roommate and spoke. "Olá, Vavor."

"Duo!" He winced a little as the elderly woman shouted down her end. Try as he might, Duo was never able to convince his grandmother that everyone could hear her perfectly fine without yelling. "Duo, I tell Solo not to make you go! I tell him is bad idea! But do he listen to me?! No! He no listen to me!" From there his Vavor's speech deteriorated into rapid fire Portuguese, and, while Duo could understand the language and speak it fluently, he had yet to master speed speech.

"Vá com calma, Vavor, eu não posso te entender."(3) On the other line, he heard his grandmother take a deep breath and comply with his request. "Obrigado."(4) The braided man motioned to his friends that he would be in the living room before leaving to finish his conversation.

Quatre looked over at the other two sharing the table with a raised brow. "That was Duo's Grandmother?" The empath asked in a humorous tone. When Wufei nodded in answer, he continued. "Well, I can see the family resemblance... if only in personality."

The Chinese man chuckled a little at that. "Yes, I have met her on a few occasions and no matter what her emotion, she is always expressive and dramatic... and apparently psychic ability runs in the family."

"Really?" Came two curious inquiries.

"Yes." He darted a quick glance to Meiran, a flicker of a smirk crossing his lips before continuing. "Once, a few years ago, Duo invited me to his family's house in Fall River and the entire time I was there Vavor was singing the praises of this women I had never met before. Two days later, I bumped into Meiran's cart at the grocery store, and we traded apologies and a few words before going our separate ways. I was sitting in my car, about to leave, when I realised that I had just met the woman Vavor had all but gushed over." Wufei laughed a little as said woman's spoonful of cereal stopped half way to her mouth and her face gained a stricken look. "Then I rushed back into the store, found her, and asked her out..."

"What happened next." Quatre asked in fascination and thoroughly enjoying the feelings of happiness and contentment as they rolled off the storyteller.

"She hit me."

All eyes were now on Meiran, who's head was all but hanging in her breakfast bowl and embarrassment radiating in her cheeks.

"I thought you were stalking me..." She mumbled defensively as the room broke out into peals of laughter.

The Chinese man shrugged, "I got used to it..." He reached over and laid a hand over hers on the table top.

"I never get tired of hearing that story..." Duo chuckled from the door way. Then, he turned his attention to his blonde friend. "I managed to calm Vavor down in record time. Ya ready t'go, Quat?"

"Already?"

"Well, it's almost 11 and if we want to get all the way out to the Berkshires by 2 we need t'go now."

"We're going all the way out to the western most part of Massachusetts?" Quatre asked with a little astonishment.

"Yep, now grab your shit and lets go!" The braided boy crowed as he slung his own duffel over his shoulder. Before he and Quatre left the apartment, he tossed a waive over his shoulder at his roommate and his girlfriend.

"Good bye... and drive carefully." Called out Wufei, knowing Duo's penchant for reckless speeding.

"Yeah, blah blah blah, and all that happy bullshit!"(5) Came the laughing answer, punctuated by the slamming of a door.

* * *

1- I couldn't resist; these are mine and my sister's middle names.

2- An Açorean endearment for grandmother.

3- Portuguese translation: Slow down, Vavor, I can't understand you.

4- Portuguese translation: Thank you.

5- Once again, I can't help but add a little of my family in this story. This is a phrase my mother tacks on to her farewells and greetings sometimes.

A/N: I seem to have a theme going here with the titles... and for those of you who wish to know, the title for last chapter (Devil's Gotta Holda Me) was by The Colour. Anyone know who 'Witchcraft' was by?


	4. Building a Mystery

A/N: I'm trying to make my chapters longer, but so far they're not cooperating with me! Sorry fro the wait... Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for this plot... even if it dose like to change on its own.

Warnings: Eventual shounen-ai, butchered religion, attempted quirky humor, psychic abilities, a tad bit of angst.

Chapter 3

Building a Mystery

* * *

The cold autumn air nipped at Duo's skin as he and Quatre rounded the side of the duplex to where the cars were parked. He repressed a shiver at the chill, instead opting to enjoy the scenery laid out before him. The road the two roommates lived on was a dead-end way off of one of the city's many side streets. Multiple family homes dominated the area, each house built practically on top of each other, and the cracking, crumpling concrete sidewalks and potholed drives were a testament to how thoroughly ignored the neighbourhood was. Duo didn't mind the decrepit streets so much, as long as they kept his favourite feature. It was this that set the small want-to-be cul-de-sac apart from the rest. At the epicentre of the one-way sat a large empty plot, big enough for at least two more houses, grown over with grass and one large, twisted oak tree standing proudly, if a little off centre. The plot was a major attraction for the neighbourhoods kids and became a playground of sorts, inspiring the residents to keep it neat, clean, and lush. They even went as far as pitching in money to buy a large backyard swing set, which was erected just that past summer. After travelling through the grey, monotonous puzzle of streets, finding this beautiful burst of greenery was like stumbling across a small piece of Eden that humanity had long been denied.

Duo smiled as he watched the children run, jump, and dance through the falling leaves. There was nothing quite like it for him, seeing the wonderment and boundless joy a child could hold. The mysteries surrounding the changes of the season, of the rich, green foliage fading to soft browns, vibrant reds and shimmering golds seemed nothing short of magical to the little ones, and the braided man couldn't help but wish for a bit of that innocence.

As violet eyes wandered over the crowd, they suddenly locked with a pair of cold, vacant blues. Duo blinked, not quite believing the sight, but when he refocused he was still there. In the middle of all the joyous play was a young boy, no older then eight, sitting under the old tree. What was different about this boy wasn't his sombre demeaner so much as his chilling detachment. The rigid posture and buzz cut seemed so militaristic and odd, it was disconcerting to see one so young look like a foreign entity among the laughing children. As the staring match continued, the boy's chin tilted up, his eyes glinting challengingly, and the young psychic wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Duo!" Quatre called out suddenly. Startled, Duo turned to him sharply. "Are you ready or what?"

Without answering his friend, the braided man returned to his staring match, only to realize the boy wasn't there anymore. His eyes quickly scanned the surrounding area, but found nothing. The child had simply vanished.

"Is there a problem?" The blonde man, now standing next to Duo, hedged. He could sense the sudden confusion in his friend and he didn't want to say something that would make him feel more uncomfortable.

"No, nothin' unusual... 'least, not for me." He laughed, but the sound seemed false, even to his own ears.

He hid behind his mirth, but Duo still couldn't shake the chill as it passed along his spine. It took a lot to unsettle the violet eyed psychic, and though he had seen and experienced far worse then this, he felt truly vexed. He couldn't puzzle out why the simple vision of a child would disturb him so.

"Then maybe we should leave..." Quatre replied, still trying to calm his friends suddenly on-edge nerves.

"Yeah, we definitely should!" Duo snapped back to reality with impetuous urgency. He looped his arm through the blonde man's and drew him back to the driveway. "Hey, we should pro'bly take yours..." the braided man started, eyeing the new model Toyota Prius warily, "it's just a bit too nice t'leave in this neighbourhood. An' it's got an iPod hook up!"

Quatre laughed merrily as the last was said. His friend dropped his bag onto the hood and began digging through, soon producing said mp3 player; a metallic pink iPod nano. The blonde laughed harder at the obviously flamboyant piece of technology.

"All right." He began fishing around his pockets for his keys and, finding them, unlocked his doors. "Where did you get that thing anyway? I never really took you for the effeminate type." The blonde added jokingly.

Duo's face took on an expression of mock horror as he flung his waist-length, chestnut braid over one shoulder and, exaggeratedly, jutted a hip to one side. "Girlfriend, please." He batted his eyes and fluttered his hands appropriately while his friend was nearly falling to the ground with his merriment.

"I think... the... 'girlfriend' bit... was too much..." Quatre chocked out between bouts of laughter.

As the braided man went back to rummaging through his duffel, light, blue eyes followed the movements, thoughts returning to the beginning of autumn and the day they met. He hadn't known or seen any of the other employees at Sweeper's Private Investigations, Quatre remembered, and only spoke with Howard over the 'phone once. He would never forget how, when being introduced as the newest psychic, the older man had fumbled to remember his name, but Duo just stepped forward with a chuckle and took the blonde's proffered hand 'Quatre Winner, right?'. To say that Quatre was shocked would be an understatement, he couldn't even bring himself to do more then stare at the man before him with that inexplicably long hair and dressed all in black. 'I'm Duo Maxwell, Howard's personal memory bank...' eyes raked his form from head to toe, 'I think we'll have lots of fun together'. The flirtatious tone and playful wink had definitely left the young psychic a bit red in the face. He never tried to conceal the fact that he was gay, but to have another man openly hit on him, in front of other people no less, was a new experience for Quatre.

When he thought about it, it occurred to Quatre that he really didn't know much about Duo Maxwell. Sure, they were friends and talked a lot, especially in Duo's case, but the only real, personal things he knew were that his brother was a priest, considerably older, and that he was raised mostly by him and his grandmother. He didn't even know Duo could speak Portuguese fluently until this morning. What he also didn't know, and this bothered Quatre most, was what it was Duo could do. Whenever he asked the answer was always 'Oh, little of this... little a'that...' never a straight forward answer. The braided man seemed to know what was going to happen before it did at times, but Quatre wasn't sure that it was pre-cognitive. He was pretty sure that his friend wasn't intuitive or empathic, but Duo did seem to understand others emotions. It was so hard to pin-point what it was he could do, it was frustrating.

Yet another thing that was bothering the blonde; the nervousness he'd felt from his friend earlier still hadn't left, only dulled. Quatre didn't like not knowing what was wrong...

"Ah! Found you!" Duo's triumphant shout startled the young psychic from his thoughts. He looked up in time to see his friend pulling a dark, navy blue hoodie, with the familiar emblem 'RED SOX' arched across its chest, over his head. As the sweatshirt smoothed into place, the two made eye contact, "It was gettin' cold." Duo shrugged by way of explanation. He zipped up his bag and made himself comfortable in the previously unlocked car, waiting patiently for Quatre to join him.

The blonde psychic pushed his worrisome thoughts to the back burner as he gathered himself from his slumped position against his car. He settled into the drivers seat and turned over the ignition, glancing at Duo, who was playing with the buttons and wires for the stereo. Chuckling, Quatre leaned over and took the player from the braided man, inserted it, pressed the iPod icon and hit play. The practised movements flowed quickly, leaving his friend little room to comment, and soon, a soft melody drifted from the speakers, washing over the cars occupants. A sort of shocked amusement crossed Quatre's face as he recognized the song and raised an eyebrow at his now fumbling friend.

"Duo... is this what I think it is?" He asked, lips twitching in suppressed mirth.

Meanwhile, the violet eyed psychic had managed to locate the pause icon and hit it with more force then necessary. "No."

"Oh... I think it was." Replied his now giggling friend. "If I didn't have a clue you were gay before, I would be certain of it now."

"What's so funny?!" Duo exclaimed, feeling the heat beginning to rise in his cheeks. Hell, everyone has at least one song that they're embarrassed to admit they enjoy. "An' that is a horrible stereotype... 'Sides, I know you love 'I knew I loved You' by Savage Garden."

"Yes... it's just... it's hard... you're the guy who blasts Godsmack and Disturbed over the loud speakers at work, _and_ who has his elderly landlord thinking he worships the devil." Quatre explained through his mirth.

The braided man's own lips twitched in a grin as he realized the double standard. "I didn' do anythin'... Ms. Hendricks came up with that on her own."

"You told her her dog was going to die."

"But I didn' kill it! Just told her to keep an eye on the thing!"

"And you don't think that could've been taken the wrong way?"

"I guess so." Duo laughed as Quatre began to carefully manoeuvre his car out of the puzzle of decrepit streets. Though the young psychic could understand his friends point, that didn't mean he was going to be telling Quatre about his extensive Michael Jackson collection anytime soon. "If you know how to getta I-90 from here, you can just take that straight to exit 8 (1). We'll stop there for lunch an' I'll tell ya the rest."

The blonde nodded his acquiescence and found the route easily.

As they began the long trek to the end of the state, Duo felt a sudden need to explain himself to his friend. "It helps me sleep."

"What?" Quatre asked, a little surprised and confused.

"Savage Garden... their music helps me sleep."

Instead of the barrage of questions he half expected, Quatre merely gave the braided man a smile as he leaned over and pushed play. "Then why don't you rest a bit."

Duo was surprised to find that he did, indeed, feel exhausted. Giving his friend a small, grateful grin, he settled himself down in the soft, leather seat and let the soothing beat of the song lull him to sleep.

* * *

_The heat was overwhelming. The smoke, suffocating... blinding._

_He fought his way through the oppressive atmosphere, eyes tearing... searching._

_There! The smoke clears, and in front of him is a burning man. The man he'd been looking for. A man he wanted to save._

_Eyes sweep the room, searching for a way to help._

_A blanket._

_He grabs it and throws it over the man writhing on the floor... the cloth incinerates instantly._

_An extinguisher._

_He pulls the pin and grips the handle. A cold foam bursts forth, but nothing happens. The fire continues to consume its victim... a man, still screaming in his pain, who should have perished long ago._

_Helplessness wraps its cold fingers around his chest. Hot tears mark pathways along his cheeks. There is nothing he can do._

_Nothing..._

_One flaming, searing hand shoots out from the bundle of fire and takes hold of the first thing it can... his own hand._

_

* * *

  
_

Pain. Duo awoke with a startled oath as pain laced its way up his arm.

Quatre nearly ran his car into the one in the next lane of the highway as the sudden yelp shocked him from his concentration. Horns sounded around him as he regained control of his vehicle. Once he had the Prius under control and parked safely in the highways breakdown lane, the blonde psychic looked over at his suffering friend. Duo was doubled over in the passenger seat, his face contorted into a grimace and left hand griping his wrist.

"What happened?" Quatre asked, removing his seat belt and leaning across the console.

"I...I dunno." Came a horse reply. Duo gritted his teeth and tried to pull his hand away from the blondes view.

"Bullshit." Even if he weren't an empath, Quatre would have known his friend well enough to see the lie. "Whatever happened to 'I may run and hide, but I don't tell lies'?"

"I'm not lyin!"

"Fine then... what are you trying to hide?"

Not seeing a way around an explanation, Duo carefully moved so his hand was visible to his friend.

Quatre hissed at the sight. His friends hand was horribly burned, an angry red around the outer edges of the wound while the rest was mottled a deep brown-red with white blistered, bubbled skin. It wasn't a pretty sight in the least.

"Allah... How _did_ you do this, Duo?" The empath couldn't believe what he was seeing, it had to have been a 2nd, if not 3rd, degree burn.

Taking a deep breath, the braided man began his explanation. "It happens sometimes... when a ghost gets real pissed, they like to take it out on me."

"You mean, a spirit can actually harm a person like that?" Quatre asked in astonishment.

"Not everyone, not if you don' make 'em angry." Duo added quickly. "Jus' people who are closer to their side... people like me, its like we're brighter, more... I dunno, tangible to them, I guess. More open."

"So, you're a medium, right?" It seemed to fit, not entirely though. "Can you do anything else? I mean, I've seen enough to know that you do a couple of things. You read auras or sense presences, right?"

Getting a little nod in answer, the blonde pressed on. "But that's not all you do..."

A frustrated sigh escaped Duos lips, this was the part he generally tried to avoid. It wasn't that he didn't trust his friend, but people tended to treat him differently after learning what his most prominent talent was. He felt a soothing touch run along his arm, causing him to return his attention to the man sitting next to him.

"You don't have to tell me anything if it makes you feel uncomfortable." Quatre assured. Though he was desperately curious, he wouldn't force the young psychic into a corner.

"You're a good friend Quat, y'know that?" Duo said, giving the blonde a genuine smile despite the awful, burning pain. Feeling reassured by the empaths sensitivity, the braided man continued with his admission. "I'm a telepath... a mind reader."

Duo waited for the tension, the inevitable discomfort that comes with such a proclamation. This was why he didn't like telling others his exact psychic abilities, they always felt the need to censor themselves around him. Nevermind the fact that he wouldn't read a persons mind if they asked him not to. What Duo wasn't expecting, was the amused grin that stole over his blonde friends lips.

"So that's how you knew I was brining coffee."

A startled laugh emanated from Duos throat, "Well... actually, I could smell it."

"Smell it?" Quatre questioned curiously.

"Yeah, I gotta... unique ability. I c'n read minds with every one of my five senses. I try hard to block it all out, but sometimes it jus' breaks through. Especially smell, since it has the strongest ties to thoughts an' memories."

That boggled the empaths mind. To hear everything a person thought was difficult enough to manage, but to also see, taste, smell, and even touch anothers thoughts was something the blonde couldn't even comprehend.

"Allah... that could easily drive a person crazy." Quatre was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the way Duo tensed at his words. "What's it like to touch what someone is thinking about?"

When no answer was forthcoming, he was forced to regard his friend. Suddenly sensing the unease, the empath decided to give up his quest for information. Instead, Quatre returned to his inspection of Duo's wound.

"This is pretty nasty... we should get you to a hospital."

Duo winced a little as his blonde friend gently prodded his hand. "How close are we t'the exit?"

"We're actually only one exit off."

"Then we'll skip lunch an' keep goin'." The braided psychic affirmed. The burning pain was beginning to subside, so he figured he could last at least that long.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Quatre insisted. "These burns need to be treated right away."

"Don' worry Q-bean," Duo grinned ruefully, "where we're goin' is as good as a hospital."

"... Where exactly are we going?" The blonde huffed. He was beginning to get frustrated with all of the vague answers.

Quatre was half expecting another 'round-about explanation when Duo gave a surprisingly straight forward response.

"The Oz Psychiatric Institute." The braided psychic's smile grew amused as he watched his blonde friends eyes widen in surprise.

"I thought we were helping your brother with an exorcism."

"We are." Duo confirmed, mirthfully. "I guess even the doctors don' know what to make of it."

Quatre, however, couldn't find anything to laugh at as the full weight of the situation finally hit him. "I think I just realized how serious this is... I mean, if a psychiatrist in a place like Oz is scared enough to call an Exorcist it must be _bad_."

That quiet admission forcefully sobered the braided man. He had heard the rumours about Oz as well. It was a last resort. A last ditch effort in rehabilitating psychotics, reserved only for the violently mentally ill and criminally insane. It was also the only mental institution in the state with a murder rate.

Taking a shaky breath, Duo answered, "Yeah... You're right."

The car merged back into the steady stream of traffic as the two solemnly continued to the last leg of their journey, suddenly unsure of the destination.

Duo settled back in the leather seat, closed his violet eyes, trying a bit of that meditation Wufei was so found of. He needed a strong focus and clear mind if he was going to survive this... and every ounce of that Scotch Whiskey he'd thought to pack.

* * *

1- The Mass Pike runs in exits that decrease numerically as you travel west, however, I totally made these directions up ;).

A/N- I hope you all enjoyed this! I wanted to put more it this chapter, but I was taking so long to right it that I decided to cut it off here. Sorry about the dark tone at the end...


	5. Fate

Possession

Just so you all know I'm still alive and thinking this story over, I am putting up this kind of teaser chapter. It does bear importance to the story, but I wasn't planning on revealing this part here. It focuses on Howard and Relena. Mostly, it is foreshadowing and set up.

Warning: Howard gets pretty OOC at some parts.

All previous disclaimers apply.

**Chapter 4**

**Fate**  
...

Relena Dorlain sat behind her desk at Sweeper's and stared at the clock, the frown line between her eyebrows deepening with every second that ticked by.

"Something's wrong..." She whispered.

In her mind she saw all the lines that connected people to events and all the cross sections between them like delicate silk scarves tied taught to posts while looping around others. It was a very beautiful, intricately woven patterns which required every piece in order to remain whole and stable. Through her entire existence, this was how she saw the world and all the people in it; as a lovely tapestry that expanded out from the center with every new wedding, business meeting, birth, or death that caused one person's path to cross over another. She knew each and every one like her next breath. All alone in this woven world, she could see every person as they traveled through their lives and how those paths rippled outward to effect everyone else. The impact of a single scarf could be localized to its immediate area, only changing the pattern in one spot, or it could change the entire course of the woven design. However, no matter how abrupt or different the change, the pattern would flow smoothly into the next as if it was always part of the design. But now...

"What's wrong, Darlin?" Came a husky, low, familiar voice as it teasingly played with the pronunciation of her last name.

Relena jolted a little in her seat and turned abruptly to the doorway leading into the main office.

"Oh, Howard! You startled me!" She laughed lightly at her jumpiness. "I-it's nothing..."

The old man looked at the woman in front of him with scrutiny as she abruptly rose from her seat and walked to the window. Everything about Relena spoke of high class propriety from the way she carried herself to the light blue, floral dress she wore. Her beautiful, honey blonde hair, swept back and low, and tied with a white ribbon, and clear, blue eyes set in lovely, fine boned features conveyed elegance, intelligence, and humility all at once. That youthful visage did nothing to betray the truth of her age the way her posture did. Straight and rigged with her chin tilted just so, as if she had gone through finishing school in a time and place long passed. Howard could see no difference in her now then when he'd met her many decades ago. At a time when he himself was an ernest teen, and not this balding, laid-back, gray haired old man who never went out with out his hawaiian shirt and sunglasses, Relena looked just as refined, poised, and timeless as she did now. The only thing that reveled her distress was the way her fingers nervously twined with each other. Twisting and fretting, the old man could tell she was lying.

"Come on..." He said cajolingly. "You can certainly tell your oldest friend, can't you?" When no answer was forthcoming, he dropped any playful pretenses and said seriously. "Relena, tell me what's wrong."

She glanced at him before sighing in defeat. Once again facing the window, Relena lifted her hand up and began tracing a complicated pattern through the air. "One of the threads disappeared a couple days ago." Her voice was low, tense, and a little sad sounding.

"Did they die? Was it one of yours?" Howard asked, concerned. He knew Relena tried to keep herself as separated from the lives of others as much as she could, but sometimes she would become attached to a few and their deaths would devastate her. These people Howard had dubbed 'Relena's Favorites' and spoke of them as if they were her own children. At first, she had vehemently rejected the terms, but after a few years she had relented and began speaking the same.

"No." She replied quickly. "When someone dies, their scarf or thread simply ties off where it was and the others around it continue on. But this one's just gone. It left a space where it used to be and, what's worse, the pieces that have intertwined with it most have all stopped weaving."

"What does it mean?"

Relena shook her head, her blonde locks fluttering with the motion. "I don't know, I've never seen this before. The only thing close to it is my own scarf... I've told you before... I don't have one, I never did. My existence doesn't play a part in the design."

"Relena!" Howard burst. "You can't be suggesting-"

"I am." Firmly uttered as she turned to her friend. For a minute, their eyes locked before she broke off, biting at her bottom lip in consternation. She knew what she would say next would sound ridiculous to Howard, but it was the only explanation she could think of. "I think someone has found a way to see the patterns."

Howard was shaking his head 'no' before Relena even finished her sentence. He knew better then anyone how unique the woman was because he'd once asked him to show him the section his pattern was in. The amount of information that flooded his mind was both incredible and unbearable. It was so overwhelming that it knocked him out for nearly two weeks. Relena had warned him it would happen, but he had insisted until she relented. There was no way someone else could use even a fraction of her ability.

"Howard! This is the only explanation that fits! It isn't as impossible as you think. If I am capable of this it is possible that somebody else is too."

"That's not enough of a reason. What other evidence do you have to convince me?"

Relena huffed in frustration before turning back to the window. Raising both hands this time, she traced delicate embellishments as if searching for something. Finally, her shoulders dropped in dismay as she seemed to find what she wanted.

"I see it now." Laden with sadness and eyes becoming glassy, she turned back to the patiently waiting man beside her. "Over the last few days, the patterns have become nonsensical and some of the scarves are fraying. It's only a matter of time before the whole thing starts coming apart. Someone with my ability could intervene and create those kinds of changes." Howard could hear Relena's voice beginning to waiver as she continued. "It is all concentrated in one section, so I think he's playing around, testing his limits..."

As she finished her sentence, she turned back to the window and simply stared as tears began rolling down her cheeks. "All those lives will be destroyed... And..."

Howard lay a comforting hand on his old friend's shoulder as he gently asked, "And?"

In a jerky movement that defied her usual grace, Relena brought her hands back up to the design only she could see and stroked the scarves in a gentle, loving manner. "This section of the design... is where all my abnormal psychics are weaving their patterns... Including my baby..."

With that, Relena buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Howard's eyes widened as the implication of what she said became clear. Quickly, he turned the woman around to face him and pried her hands away from her face.

"Relena! Relena! Listen to me, can you see a way to fix the patterns as they weave?" He asked urgently.

Not bothering to turn back around, Relena raised her hands and again began tracing lines in the air in front of Howard's face. Calming down a little, she shook her head, "Yes. I could fix it, but..."

"But what?"

"I-I shouldn't be meddling with people's paths... And... With someone else working against me-"

Howard grasped Relena's shoulders and forced her to face him fully. "I know that you're feeling shocked and uncertain because of this thread that disappeared. I know that you hesitate and question yourself whenever you feel the need to step in and change a pattern so it can follow a more harmonious path. That your afraid of inadvertently destroying the whole thing. But, I also know that no one knows this design, how it weaves, how it changes, and how to stabilize it better then you."

After he finished his little pep talk, Howard released Relena's arms and she gave him a shaky smile in return.

"Now, can you do it?" He asked again.

His old friend smiled a bit wider as she said simply and politely, "Yes."

"That's m'girl! Fix that design and show 'em who the better artist is!" He then clapped his hands together before shouting, "A~lll right then! So tell me who this guy whose thread disappeared is so I can get to diggin up some info!"

Relena giggled a bit as the flip switched and Howard was back to his goofy old self again.

"Fine. His name is Trieze Khushrenada."

...

Ahhh... That ended up being longer then I thought it would be... It's also in an awkward spot. I may move it at a later time... Or not. We'll see.

Oh well. Please r&r!

Also, the last chapter, the person who performs that song is Sarah McLachlan. Can you guess who performs the song title for this chapter?


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